ArticlePloS one2011
The effects of voluntary, involuntary, and forced exercises on brain-derived neurotrophic factor and motor function recovery: a rat brain ischemia model.
Article in PloS one, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 119 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
119 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 273 citations in OpenAlex.
- Investigating the effects of different exercise protocols on depressive-like behaviors and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in rodents: a systematic review.Experimental brain research · 2026Pooled it
- Aerobic exercise training effects on hippocampal volume in healthy older individuals: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.GeroScience · 2024Pooled it
- The effects of poststroke aerobic exercise on neuroplasticity: a systematic review of animal and clinical studies.Translational stroke research · 2015Pooled it
- The Effects of Exercise on Cognitive Recovery after Acquired Brain Injury in Animal Models: A Systematic Review.Neural plasticity · 2015Pooled it
- Trial
- Chronic exercise and neuropsychological function in healthy young adults: a randomised controlled trial investigating a running intervention.Cognitive processing · 2024Trial
- Translation of robot-assisted rehabilitation to clinical service: a comparison of the rehabilitation effectiveness of EMG-driven robot hand assisted upper limb training in practical clinical service and in clinical trial with laboratory configuration for chronic stroke.Biomedical engineering online · 2018Trial
- Early exercise intervention alleviates neuroinflammation after ischemic stroke by regulating GSK-3β/HK2-associated inflammatory signaling in microglia.IBRO neuroscience reports · 2026Article
- Cognitive and biochemical responses to continuous moderate and extensive interval exercise in randomized elderly male rats.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Neurobiology of resilience to early life stress.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Age-related changes and lack of effect of midlife resistance wheel exercise on afferent connectivity of lumbar alpha motor neurons in ageing mouse spinal cord.Biogerontology · 2025Article
- Exercise facilitates post-stroke recovery through mitigation of neuronal hyperexcitability via interleukin-10 signaling.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Association of exercise and ADHD symptoms: Analysis within an adult general population sample.PloS one · 2025Article
- Effects of MicroRNAs and Long Non-coding RNAs on Beneficial Action of Exercise on Cognition in Degenerative Diseases: A Review.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Review
- Gene Expression After Exercise Is Disrupted by Early-Life Stress.Developmental psychobiology · 2025Article
- Overview of mechanism of electroacupuncture pretreatment for prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2024Review
- Coenzyme Q10 and exercise training reinstate middle cerebral artery occlusion-induced behavioral deficits and hippocampal long-term potentiation suppression in aging rats.Psychopharmacology · 2024Article
- Cerebral Benefits Induced by Electrical Muscle Stimulation: Evidence from a Human and Rat Study.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Pediatric Acquired Brain Injury and Recovery.Biomolecules · 2024Review
- Effect of stress on the rehabilitation performance of rats with repetitive mild fluid percussion-induced traumatic brain injuries.Cognitive neurodynamics · 2024Article
59 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundStroke rehabilitation with different exercise paradigms has been investigated, but which one is more effective in facilitating motor recovery and up-regulating brain neurotrophic factor (BDNF) after brain ischemia would be interesting to clinicians and patients. Voluntary exercise, forced exercise, and involuntary muscle movement caused by functional electrical stimulation (FES) have been individually demonstrated effective as stroke rehabilitation intervention. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of these three common interventions on brain BDNF changes and motor recovery levels using a rat ischemic stroke model. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
findingsOne hundred and seventeen Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly distributed into four groups: Control (Con), Voluntary exercise of wheel running (V-Ex), Forced exercise of treadmill running (F-Ex), and Involuntary exercise of FES (I-Ex) with implanted electrodes placed in two hind limb muscles on the affected side to mimic gait-like walking pattern during stimulation. Ischemic stroke was induced in all rats with the middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion model and fifty-seven rats had motor deficits after stroke. Twenty-four hours after reperfusion, rats were arranged to their intervention programs. De Ryck's behavioral test was conducted daily during the 7-day intervention as an evaluation tool of motor recovery. Serum corticosterone concentration and BDNF levels in the hippocampus, striatum, and cortex were measured after the rats were sacrificed. V-Ex had significantly better motor recovery in the behavioral test. V-Ex also had significantly higher hippocampal BDNF concentration than F-Ex and Con. F-Ex had significantly higher serum corticosterone level than other groups. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Voluntary exercise is the most effective intervention in upregulating the hippocampal BDNF level, and facilitating motor recovery. Rats that exercised voluntarily also showed less corticosterone stress response than other groups. The results also suggested that the forced exercise group was the least preferred intervention with high stress, low brain BDNF levels and less motor recovery.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.